Shumaker, who received his law degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2006, connected with John Salazar, partner and member of the management committee at Middleton Reutlinger, through a former classmate at Ballard High School who is also an attorney.

“Later, when (Salazar) was more certain the workload would justify hiring me, Middleton flew me in for an interview in April 2013.”

Shumaker received an offer later that month and began working as a full-time associate at Middleton Reutlinger on July 1, 2013.

Making the move

Although Shumaker initiated the lateral hiring move, law firms are just as likely to reach out to potential associates.

Occasionally, groups of lawyers will move together from one firm to another.

Hiring an associate who already has experience within a specific area can save a law firm years of training.

“Recruiting is a continual issue,” Salazar said. “It is always on my mind — it’s amazing. I’ve always got my radar up, looking to see if anybody I meet is interested in coming.”

Patent law is an attractive niche

Shumaker specializes in patent law, which Salazar said is a highly sought-after specialty and also a field in which Middleton Reutlinger is a leader.

The law firm is No. 1 on Business First’s May 23 intellectual property legal services list, with 18 local intellectual property lawyers and clients such as Google Inc.

In 2013, the firm filed 254 patents, the largest number of any firm on the list.

Relatively speaking, there aren’t very many patent lawyers for several reasons, according to Salazar.

To qualify for the patent bar exam, a candidate must already hold a bachelor’s degree in science, such as engineering or biotechnology.

“Secondly, the nuts and bolts of patent practice can be very dry and tedious,” Salazar said. “Lastly, it is mostly a practice that doesn’t involve court time or litigation exposure and wherein most of the work is sitting at a desk and just reading patents.”

Local ties help with recruiting

“It is extremely difficult to find patent attorneys with experience who want to transition in a lateral move,” Salazar said.

“What we have focused on are candidates who have a reason to be here,” Salazar said. “If they’re not from Louisville or the region, it has been tough to retain those associates.”

Patent attorneys “are very marketable in a larger city. We look for people who either grew up here and they’re ready to move back, or their spouse is from here.”

A shift in values

In addition, Salazar said the law field has seen a shift to an emphasis on family life over career in recent years, which has an impact on lateral hiring.

“A lot of young attorneys are placing that at the forefront,” he said. “Over the last five years, we’ve been emphasizing that.”

Salazar said Middleton Reutlinger learned its lesson about hiring associates with no connection to the area in the 1990s. “We’d train them, then they’d turn around to go to Atlanta or the West Coast,” he said.

While lateral hiring can be good for a law firm, Shumaker said it can be a detriment as well if the associate is looking only for more money, rather than a better fit for his or her skill set.

“If they do it for the right reasons, it all goes well, and everybody’s happy.”